State encouraged to expand Medicaid

White House, Dems push move

Nov. 20, 2013

Written by

Mary Orndorff Troyan

Gannett Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The White House and South Carolina Democrats joined forces Tuesday to encourage the state to expand its Medicaid program and provide health insurance to an additional 198,000 lower-income residents.

South Carolina House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, in a conference call with reporters arranged by the White House, said Republicans are resisting the expansion for political reasons.

“It’s simply political that they don’t want 198,000 people... to gain that coverage and be able to thank a Democratic administration,” Rutherford said.

The 2010 Affordable Care Act originally required all states to broaden eligibility for Medicaid to everyone earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $27,000 for a family of three. The federal government will pay the full cost of the expansion for the first three years. That later drops to 90 percent.

But a U.S. Supreme Court ruling made Medicaid expansion optional for states. Twenty-five states, including South Carolina, refused.

Since then, President Barack Obama has campaigned for the expansions as a way to reduce the number of uninsured in the country. If the remaining states expanded, an additional 5.4 million people would qualify for the federal-state health insurance program.

State Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell, D-Lancaster, said she favors expansion for humanitarian and economic development reasons. Expanding Medicaid would bring $11.2 billion to South Carolina over the first seven years, create jobs and protect people against catastrophic medical bills, she said.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Republican governors in some states, including Ohio, have expanded Medicaid in their states, and South Carolina should follow suit.

“We are glad to see some conservative governors... put politics aside and decide to do the right thing for their constituents,” Earnest said.

Gov. Nikki Haley’s office said Medicaid wouldn’t expand in South Carolina as long she’s in office.

“It’s pretty unbelievable that at a time when the nightmare of Obamacare is unraveling in front of the entire nation’s eyes, this White House is redoubling its efforts to get South Carolina to buy into their disaster,” said Haley spokesman Doug Mayer.

South Carolina has about 733,000 uninsured residents.

The state’s director of Health and Human Services, Tony Keck, disputed the White House estimate on how many more people would qualify for Medicaid under an expansion.

He said state Medicaid rolls would grow by 344,000, with added state costs of between $600 million and $1.9 billion from 2014-20, including $130 million to $220 million in administrative expenses.

“There are other ways to get people needed health services than an expansion of an open-ended entitlement program,” Keck said. “We’re working with hospitals and providers to look at the money we already have... to get services to people who need them.”